It seems my grandparents weren’t prepared to raise a child with her needs. Unfortunately, they’re no longer around to question. My dad was 46 when he found out about his sister. ©

Story 4

My great-grandparents were high school sweethearts and the only role models I’d ever had for a relationship, since my grandparents and parents are divorced and hate each other. Then my mom tells me that my great-grandma had an affair, and that’s why one of my grandma’s sisters isn’t like the others. So, there goes that. © Symnestra / Reddit

Story 5

When I was around 7 years old, I would see my father kiss women I saw for the very first time. Since I was used to thinking that kissing passionately was just like a normal kiss on the cheek as a greeting, I didn’t care.

When my father spotted me while he was kissing some woman, he went up to me and gave me $20 for just standing there. I realized what he was really doing a few years later, and I was immensely disappointed. © Lasok-Yt / Reddit

Story 6

We found out that my parents had a baby together when they were 15, but their parents forced them to give him up and break up. When my mom turned 18, they got married and had me, then my sister four years later.

I was 24 when we discovered we had an older full brother. Ten years have passed since finding out, and we have still never met him. © ifindthishumerus / Reddit

Story 7

My dad used to make me hide in the back seat of his car whenever he’d take my half-brother to meet up with his real father. It was always at this one shady gas station late at night, and he’d just duck my head down because he didn’t want me to know what was going on.
Apparently, my brother’s real dad was in and out of prison a lot too, so I believe he was protecting me. © ballin_balas / Reddit

Story 8

When I was a kid, I used to think I was visiting my grandpa at work. Later on, I learned that his “work clothes” were actually a prison uniform.
A twist to the story is that my grandmother cheated on him with the sheriff who arrested him, and still lives with that guy to this day. © Plumerian / Reddit

Story 9

My boyfriend and I would have weekly lunch dates every Wednesday at the same restaurant. He said it was his favorite place. He also said he was only available Wednesday at noon.

One Wednesday, my phone was stolen at work, so I decided to go wait at our spot for him anyway. While I was there, I chatted with a waitress I hadn’t seen before. Eventually, I asked to borrow her phone to call my boyfriend and let him know my phone had been stolen, but I was waiting for him.

I typed in his number, and I was shocked to find his contact — with a photo of him and his dog in his bed, no clothes. Both of us said at the same time, “How do you know my boyfriend?” She usually had Wednesdays off and was just covering a shift that day. Turns out, they had weekly Wednesday dinner dates. © Unknown author / Reddit

Story 10

I had to go see a counselor a lot as a kid, but I had no clue why at the time. I didn’t make the connection until I was older, but I was receiving counseling because I was suffering from PTSD caused by a scary car crash I was involved in when I was around 4–5 years old. © Venome456 / Reddit

Story `11

My mother used to never want to get out of bed when I was 5, and she just kept saying she was sick. Finally, my stepdad took her to a hospital, where she stayed for nearly a month. I thought it was so cool that her hospital let her do arts and crafts all the time, plus she got better and started doing arts and crafts with me, too, when she got home.

I remember telling her that I wished I could go to the hospital and draw all day. She sat me down and told me that she hoped I would never get sick like she did. But if I do, there’s nothing wrong with needing help to get better, even if you have to go somewhere for a little while to do it.

It wasn’t until I was probably 13 that it clicked that the hospital she had gone to was a mental health hospital, when I realized I didn’t want to get out of bed myself. But because of her, I’ve never felt shame about needing therapy when things are getting bad or even just to maintain a healthy mindset. © kenda1l / Reddit